Veteran LA-based artist Moby debuts his new project, Moby & The Void Pacific Choir, and KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes their first LP is "a potent set of noisy, goth-tinged post-punk with loud, distorted synths, rumbling guitars, pounding industrial rhythms, dour vocals, soaring song hooks…
Grammy-nominated singer Mary Lambert has been doing things for herself lately. And, she says, it feels exhilarating. But between performances and business moves – like signing her own distribution deal and releasing her latest EP, Bold, in May – she’s been playing a lot of The Sims computer game, c…
Chaz Bundick, who now goes by Chaz Bear, has announced a new Toro Y Moi album, Boo Boo, and shared a video for its first single, "Girl Like You." Boo Boo will be released July 7th via Carpark. In a lengthy statement about the album, Bear describes falling into a crisis of identity because of his fa…
Can you believe it's been 20 years since OK Computer was released?! In honor of that special anniversary, Radiohead are releasing a special deluxe reissue called OKNOTOK. The album will feature three previously unreleased songs, along with the record's original 12 tracks and eight B-sides. One of t…
CHVRCHES have teamed up with actress Kristen Stewart for a live version of their track "Down Side of Me," which can be found on the box set 7-Inches for Planned Parenthood (with 100% of the proceeds being donated to Planned Parenthood, natch). In a press release, frontwoman Lauren Mayberry says th…
With Oh My Virgin Ears!, KEXP's (young) intern Gabe Pollak takes a first listen at iconic albums in music history. With revered UK group Radiohead playing a sold out show next door at Key Arena tonight, we had him spend some time with the band's third LP -- often called "one of the greatest albums …
We couldn't be more serious: the latest from longtime singer/songwriter Andrew Bird is the artist's most intimate album yet. Not only has Bird opened his life to a wife and child, but he's opened up his music. "Most of my productions have been very autonomous," he confirms to DJ Cheryl Waters. But …
Rest in peace, Thomas Fekete. The Surfer Blood guitarist passed away last night after a long battle with a rare form of cancer. His wife released this statement:
Our sweet Thomas passed on last night, peacefully in his sleep, holding my hand. With one last sigh, he let go of the burden of pain and…
The range of Major Lazer is vast and extensive. From an Adult Swim TV show, to the radio, to festivals worldwide, the group is quickly becoming a household name. Now a DJ Switch-less trio, the group has offered production to many of the radio’s top played songs (see “Lean On Me,” “Get Free”) yet th…
Even as it feels like rock 'n' roll is losing too many of its heroes lately, we should also remember those who continue to carry the flame. Among them, KEXP favorites Capsula, who exalt the rock gods of yore with a fiery passion. On eight kinetic LPs, plus a handful of collaborations, compilations …
Though they hail from Los Angeles, Dengue Fever are like Cambodian ambassadors to the Pacific Northwest. On their recent return to the KEXP airwaves, the six-piece seemed right at home, even in our new studio. The band's instrumentation is uniquely cinematic, a multicultural modernization of the ps…
Could there be a better symbol of KEXP's rebirthing in our new home than the "Baby Big Man" that is Ty Segall? Donning a creepy torn-up baby mask and wielding an adult-sized umbilical chord, the KEXP listener- and DJ-favorite artist christened the new KEXP live room with our first ever live broadca…
So far in our weekly series of Polish bands KEXP recorded while at the OFF Festival in Katowice, we've heard the inventive, experimental, electronic, traditional, and emotive sounds of contemporary Polish bands, but you might still be wondering, can they rock? The Stubs are here to say, hell yes! O…
When asked how they deal with the stress of extensive touring, Yelle quips, "We are planking. Every day." Maybe we should be taking notes. Hailing from Brittany, France, electropop duo Yelle (Julie Budet) and Grandmarnier (Jean-François Perrier) have captured a wide following in recent years with f…
I have a confession to make: Not unlike some KCMU DJs circa 1986, I am woefully ignorant of the career and voluminous musical output of Wanda Jackson, also known as the Queen of Rockabilly - or just the Queen of Rock. (Obviously I haven't been reading the KEXP blog enough, or this DJ El Toro review…
It didn't take long for Merchandise frontman Carson Cox's dry sense of humor to set in with his band's Saturday afternoon crowd. "So we're from Florida," he deadpanned. "Can you believe it?" On a hot afternoon, the hazy qualities of Merchandise's music were brought to the forefront, an effect that …
Of the experiences that KEXP listeners tell us they value most, the intimate, personal interactions between artists and fans always ranks the highest. In our interviews and in-studio videos, we try to get as close to the heart as possible, but occasionally we are able to dive further into the creat…
It has the makings of an indie movie plot: Hip musician dad records album with son while his wife undergoes cancer therapy. The real story is a bit more complicated, but that's essentially the backdrop of Tweedy, the latest project of Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy and his son Spencer. The duo recorded…
When's the last time you listened to a record and thought to yourself, "Wow, that's a sound you don't hear every day". Calgary based post-punk quartet Viet Cong (featuring members of now-defunct Calgary act Women) drop their self-titled first LP this week on Jagjaguwar, and it's one of those record…
Sóley is the cutest creeper out there. The Icelandic singer-songwriter is so disarmingly charming, and her voice so exquisite, that even her songs about killer clowns, murderers and weird, one-eyed ladies are quite soothing. She's also an expert looper and a snappy dresser. In other words, there's …
